May I call you father?
by The Chainsaw Juliet
Summary: The first foster home for Pietro isn't what he thought it would be. A look at his traumatised childhood before Magneto comes back for him.


Hi all! Thought I'd do a short story on Pietro's past. I mean, they really don't tell us anything about him. He IS the world's cutest mutant...And Lance too. But anyway, this is about Pietro in his adoptive home. Magneto left him there for a while so he could get on with his.... Business of something or other. I've always seen Pietro as someone, whom has suffered a dark childhood, so I thought I'd put it in words. Here goes nothing peeps!   
  
Disclaimer: I don't own him.... Wish I did though... WAAAAAAAAAH! Me want Pietro! Mine all mine!  
  
********************************************************************************  
  
May I call you father?  
  
"Give it back!" Yelled a small albino boy as he clung onto his white teddy bear with a red love heart on its chest frantically.  
"No way freak! Freaks aren't allowed to have toys!" Retorted a taller boy with a shock of red hair and an ugly face scattered with freckles. Large front teeth jutted out of his ugly mouth.  
"But my daddy gave me that!" The boy yelled back. He was frustrated and on the verge of tears. The other boy gave a mighty tug and yanked it away from the albino.  
"Hah! Seems your strength isn't as much as your speed!" The ugly boy spat. He turned around and stuck his nose in the air and proceeded to walk off. The little boy collapsed into tears. No one came to his aid. He sobbed into his sleeve and blew his nose into a small black handkerchief. A large hand grabbed his shoulder roughly and jerked him up onto his feet.  
"What's going on here? Why the hell are you crying now?" The man said. His face was covered by a bushy red beard and was as ugly as his son.  
"Samuel took away my teddy bear! And my daddy gave me that!" The weak little boy said as he sniffled softly.  
"How many freaking times do I have to tell you not to ever mention your father in my house?" The man roared. Fear was struck into the little boy's silver eyes.  
"S.... Sorry sir! I won't do it again!" He stammered.  
"Good." The man threw him down.  
"But what about my teddy bear? You always tell me not to take any of their stuff...But how come you let them? That's not fair!" He wailed.  
"I'm the boss here and I make the rules and decisions! D'you here that boy?" He roared. His only answer was a small sob as the boy used his mutant powers to run away from his dirty clutches.   
"Samuel get me that stupid freaking boy before I freaking break his neck!" He yelled out to his son. The tall boy started to run after him.  
  
Pietro urged his legs faster. He knew that they couldn't catch him now, they couldn't even see him! Somehow this made him feel a little better. His mutant powers were the rare ability to run faster than the speed of sound. But this came at a price. Pietro was cursed to see the world in slow motion, while he talked and acted at a normal speed. The Fears hadn't been the nicest people he had hoped them to be. They tortured him since his father had let him stay with them while he went away for business and work. Straight away Mr Fears had made himself clear that Samuel, his son, was going to always be smarter and tougher then him. But Mr Fears didn't count on speed. In an athletic track that Samuel had challenged Pietro to, the quiet boy won. He had even beaten the world record. Mr Fears was furious. And from then on, Pietro Maximoff was an outcast.  
  
"Pietro come back you stupid boy!" Samuel yelled out as he stumbled across the garden. He couldn't run very fast. He wasn't very smart either, and ended up exactly where he started, in front of his father's statue.   
"Stupid boy! Fine! Get lost! See if I care!" He yelled out to the empty garden. But he knew that he did. He had to care. The Boss had personally given his son to them to care for, and when he came back and they had treated him badly, then they would pay with their lives. Saying they didn't know where he was wasn't going to help either.  
  
Pietro breathed a sigh of relief.  
"Dear God, they never leave me alone do they?" He asked himself. The little eight-year-old lay panting in the middle of the complex maze that was the Fears' garden. His forehead was beaded with sweat and his white hair was sticking out in odd angles.  
"Gotchya!" Said a satisfied voice. Mr Fears grabbed the pale boy by his collar and proceeded to walk back to the house. He roughly kicked open the door and Mrs Fears looked up.   
"Making trouble again have you Pietro?" She said and laughed. Her laugh sounded like a chainsaw on corrugated iron. She slapped him across the cheek and her hand left a red print on him. He bit his lip. I mustn't cry, he thought, I'm not weak!   
"Not enough is it boy?" She said. She slapped him harder this time and cackled. Samuel came in and laughed with her. The Mr Fears joined in the cruel laughter too.   
"Stop laughing at me!" He screamed as tears began to pour down his red cheeks.  
"Stop it! I'll tell my dad everything! I'll tell him! You'll see!" He yelled out at their faces. Mr Fears immediately dropped the boy, and Pietro landed on his bottom very roughly on the marble floor.  
"You boy, will never tell him that! You are going to stay in the cupboard for a week! You here that? No food, and no water. I'll let you out for a toilet break. Thank the God's that your lucky I'm in a good mood. You should never, never ever talk to us like that!" He shook the boy by his thin shoulders, "You here?" Pietro nodded meekly. He prayed in his head, please father come home! I don't want to be in the cupboard! I don't want to! Please father help me!  
  
Mr Fears opened the cupboard. It was as tall as he was, but as thin as Pietro. It was made purely of steel, and holes were drilled on the sides for ventilation. It was as if it was made entirely for Pietro. He roughly threw the boy inside and bolted the doors.  
"Please sir, can.... Can I have my teddy bear? Please?" Pietro asked in a faltering voice. A small sob escaped from his lips. Mr Fears grumbled.  
"Samuel give this idiot back his teddy bear!" He yelled. Samuel came back muttering words under his breath. Mr Fears threw the teddy bear into the cupboard.  
"Thank you sir." Pietro said softly. Mr Fears grumbled an unintelligent answer and walked away.  
  
Pietro sat in the darkness, his stomach grumbling. Once in a while Samuel would peek through the holes and taunt him with food. All Pietro did was shut his eyes tightly and block his ears. But that didn't stop him from smelling the wonderful aromas of food.  
He was sweating and he felt awfully cramped. The world seemed to close in on him, and he could hardly breath. Mr Fears had complained that Pietro had claustrophobia. He stood up and began to pound on the door,  
"Let me out! Please let me out! I can't breath in here! Please sir let me out!" He screamed the last sentence until his throat was burning. He felt hot and weak. Sweat stung his eyes and mingled with a new batch of tears.   
"Please..." He whispered as he slumped down once more. He pressed the teddy bear close to his heart. He smelled the familiar aroma of his father's cologne. It made him miss him terribly. That's it, he thought fiercely, I have to get out of here. He stood up with renewed energy and began pounding on the door.   
"LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT!" He chanted, while his fists beat in a flurry against the steel doors. "LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT!" Pietro's fists soon turned red, and as he continued pounding, they began to bleed. Then he stopped. An eerie silence descended upon the house. He heard hurried footsteps. Samuel threw open the door.  
"Listen to me, your father's here!" Pietro's face lit up.  
"But you're gonna keep quiet. We're gonna tell him that we sent you away to camp."   
"Wha?! That's not fair!" Samuel quickly covered the boy's mouth and shut the closet once again. He hurriedly ran out of the room. Pietro was shocked. His father had come home for him and they weren't going to let him go. Anger rose in his chest like wildfire. He felt new strength in his bleeding hands. No one keeps me away from my father. No one. Pietro thought fiercely.  
  
"Where is my son? Where is Pietro?" Magneto boomed. Mr Fears gulped.  
"We uh.... Sent him away to camp. We thought that he... he needed some fresh air!" Mrs Fears nodded, her head bobbing up and down at a quick speed. Samuel came back. He gulped at the sight of Magneto.   
  
Pietro heard his father's voice and his heart leapt. He began to pound on the door, raising his voice so that his father could hear him.  
"MAGNUS I'M IN HERE! I'M IN THE CUPBOARD! MAGNUS PLEASE COME GET ME! THEY TORTURE ME SO MUCH AND I MISS YOU EVERY DAY! I STILL LOVE YOU MAGNUS! COME GET ME OUT PLEASE!" Pietro yelled. He yelled until he could barely manage a whisper.  
  
Magneto jerked up when he heard his boy's voice. Pietro was pleading him to get him out. He stood up and began to roam the house, searching for the room, which held his beloved son. Mrs Fears nervously got up to follow him.   
"Uh, that's my boy's...uh friend...yeah and they're playing a video game. You know how boys are?" She joked nervously. Samuel jerked his head up and down in response. Magneto ignored them. Then he came to a stop in front of cupboard and peeked into one of the holes.  
"Magnus!" Squeaked an exhausted voice from inside. "You came for me!" Pietro peeked through the small slit as his eyes met his father's. He began to cry. No more suffering! No more torture! He was going home at last!  
  
Magneto was overcome with rage. He whispered to his son.  
"Pietro I want you to close you ears very tightly and hum my favourite song. Will you do that for me?" Pietro nodded vigorously. "Good. Now wait here Pietro just for a little longer." Magneto angrily turned back to the Fears as he heard Pietro begin to hum. He furiously made his way back to the living room. The Fears were practically crying.  
"I gave my son to you to mind. It was as simple as that. No more than a couple of years. That's all. And this is how you treat him?" He roared. The only noise was the crackle of the fireplace as a fire blazed cozily. "You agreed that my son would be treated fairly. You even have the nerve to lie to me! You dare to keep my son away from me! The price we agreed on was death. Prepare to meet your makers." He finished calmly. Mr Fears got on his knees.  
"Please sir I beg you! Spare my family please!" Mrs Fears was hysterical and Samuel was opening and closing his mouth like a fish.  
"No." Was all Magneto said.   
  
The cupboard doors were flung open as a little albino boy tumbled out. Pietro looked a mess. He hadn't been fed for at least 4 days and he had dark shadows under his dull silver eyes. His shocking white hair was sticking out in odd angles and he wore a baggy black shirt that was way too big for him.   
"Magnus?" He asked in disbelief.  
"Yes Pietro. Came and sit beside me." Pietro nodded and joined Magneto on a couch near the fire. He was too embarrassed and shy to talk. And partly because he could not believe the fact that he was going home at last. He didn't even care that the Fears were gone. All he cared about was getting out of here as soon as possible.   
"Can we go home now?" He blurted out. Magneto looked at his boy. My, how he's grown. He thought to himself. He's grown at least a foot taller and his eyes match mine. Magneto chuckled gently. Pietro shifted uncomfortably in the couch. He wasn't used to this. He was used to sitting on the cold marble floor with nothing more than his teddy bear, which by the way, he was still clutching close to his heart. Magneto pointed at it.  
"You still have that."  
"Of course." He said and clutched it even tighter. "You gave it to me. It's the only thing I have that they didn't take away. They took away all of my clothes and all of my toys... but I wouldn't let them take away this. This is too special." Magneto's heart twisted. What a life they put him through. He thought. But now, it would all stop. He was going to take him home right now.   
"Magnus?" Pietro asked, the fire dancing on his sliver eyes and casting shadows over his tired face.  
"Yes Pietro?"  
"May I call you father?" Pietro asked in a faltering voice as a sob escaped his lips. Magneto stood up, tears streaming down his face, as he scooped up his small son and held him to his chest. Pietro listened for the rhythmic beat of Magneto's heart and when he heard it, placed a kiss on his father's cheek. Magneto buried his face in his son's white hair and whispered,  
"Of course you can my son. Of course you can."  
  
********************************************************************************  
  
Was that good? I mean, sure I'm not the best author but I guess it was okay. I love little Pietro! I must do one of him even younger...  
  
  
  



End file.
